JACK KIRBY'S COMPLETE "SOLAR LEGION"

Comics fans need no introduction to Jack Kirby. "The King" as he was rightly called, was responsible for creating some of the most memorable comic book characters of all time. During his career, he worked for a number of different studios, but his most significant work came when he was employed by Marvel and DC.

In 1940, he created "Solar Legion", a science-fiction series featuring the character, Adam Starr (years later, DC would introduce their on cosmic adventurer, Adam Strange). It ran in all five issues of Tem Publishing's CRASH COMICS ADVENTURES, beginning with its first issue in May, 1940. Kirby wrote and drew the first three issues and scripted the last two with an unknown artist. For some reason, the series was never promoted on the front cover, which was reserved for the character, Strongman, Tem's weak version of Superman.

The title quickly fell off its monthly publishing schedule until it faded away after #5, likely a casualty of looming wartime paper shortages and diminishing readership.

Following are the five installments of "Solar Legion".

CRASH COMICS ADVENTURES No. 1 (May, 1940)

CRASH COMICS ADVENTURES No. 2 (June, 1940)

CRASH COMICS ADVENTURES No. 3 (July, 1940)

CRASH COMICS ADVENTURES No. 4 (September, 1940)

CRASH COMICS ADVENTURES No. 5 (November, 1940)

See the post about the new, "remixed" version coming later this year HERE.

EARLY KIRBY SCI-FI WORK "REMIXED"

You can't keep a legendary comic artist down. In this case, it's the near-mythical Jack Kirby, who shoveled out reams of comic book pages like a newspaper press. He perfected the technique of foreshortening, which added drama to the comic panel and which soon became a Marvel Comics staple.

If you're interested in delving into Kirby's career in comic art, there are stacks of reprints of his material (as well as plentiful back issues of his comics), as well as regularly published magazines showcasing his work.

During the later part of his career, "King" Kirby as he became affectionately known, created "cosmic" characters and storylines for both Marvel and DC where he designed fantastic worlds that even an engineer would admire.

Noted as his first foray into this fantastical sci-fi realm was a 5-issue series in Tem Publishing Co., Inc.'s CRASH COMIC ADVENTURES (simplified as CRASH COMICS on the cover). The first story appeared in issue #1 dated May, 1940. The series was titled, "Solar Legion", starring Adam Starr and the first three installments were written, drawn and inked by Kirby. He scripted the last two for an as-yet unknown artist.

In tribute to Kirby's early illustrated trip into space, artist Tom Scioli is "remixing" the complete 5-issue series into a visually-updated version, due to hit comic stores later this year.

Posted here are cleaned-up pages from the original color first story and sample pages of the re-mixed duo-tone version.

83 Years Later, Tom Scioli Recreates Jack Kirby's Starr Warriors

Tom Scioli is remixing an 83-year-old comic book by Jack Kirby as Jack Kirby's Starr Warriors Starring Adam Starr And The Solar Legion.

By Rich Johnston | Wednesday, 21 Jun 2023 | Bleedingcool.com

It's been quite a week of Jack Kirby. Firstly the Disney+ documentary on Stan Lee dropped, which featured Kirby at the end, and caused considerable comment from Kirby's fans and family over the way he was portrayed and how Stan Lee was allowed to portray himself. And now, something new – or old – from Image Comics. In 1940, at the age of 23, Kirby wrote and drew a five-page story, Solar Legion in Tem Publishing's Crash Comics Adventures #1, a space opera starring one Adam Starr.

And now, in 2023, Tom Scioli, creator of the I Am Stan graphic novel biography of Stan Lee, is turning his attention to Kirby and remixing that original story into a brand new comic book, Jack Kirby's Starr Warriors Starring Adam Starr And The Solar Legion. He's been funding the creation on his Patreon and now will be publishing the comic as part of Image Comics' September 2023 solicits:

JACK KIRBY'S STARR WARRIORS: THE ADVENTURES OF ADAM STARR AND THE SOLAR LEGION (ONE-SHOT)

Story: Jack Kirby, Art: Jack Kirby, Tom Scioli

JACK KIRBY'S first cosmic hero is back in this deluxe remix! It's JACK KIRBY like you've never seen him before! JACK KIRBY's first cosmic hero, the pirate hunter Adam Starr, is back in this deluxe remix of KIRBY's first Space Epic series. See Adam Starr and his Solar Legion of Star Warriors in a battle to the death with killer space pirates Black Michael, Arthak, and their evil armadas. It's a rip-roaring space adventure with giant man-eating space worms, gargantuan alien killer fish, and planetary nuclear annihilation. 32 pages, Spot Color, $9.99, All Ages, 20th September 2023.